Company visits set students on course for SMM

What does a career in the maritime industry look like for a software developer, a data scientist, an engineer or a marine engineering student?

Ahead of the summer, 163 students from a wide range of educational backgrounds had the opportunity to find out first-hand. Across a series of company visits organised by ShippingLab, Danish Maritime and Danish Shipping, 163 students got a first-hand look at different parts of the maritime industry.

The visits are part of a joint initiative leading up to SMM 2026, one of the world’s leading maritime trade fairs, taking place in Hamburg on 2-4 September. The aim is to introduce more students to the maritime industry and show them how the skills they are developing can translate into real jobs, technologies and solutions to challenges within the sector.

Different backgrounds, different ways into maritime

Students from IT Universitety of Copenhagen (ITU), DTU, Aalborg University (AAU), University of Southern Denmark (SDU), SIMAC, MARTEC, Fredericia College of Marine and Technical Engineering (FMS), Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering and Teknika visited TORM, Alfa Laval, Orskov Yard, SH Group, Inrotech, Monjasa, FORCE Technology and Fueltech.

Their backgrounds illustrate just how broad the potential talent pool for the maritime industry is.

Computer Science, Software Design, Data Science, Autonomous Systems, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Biotechnology and Chemistry, Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering are just some of the fields of study represented.

The maritime industry is undergoing significant transformation, creating a growing need for different skills, expertise and perspectives. New technologies and energy solutions are being developed and implemented, digitalisation and automation are changing maritime operations, and the industry is adapting to new climate ambitions, regulation and global challenges.

Meeting these changes requires traditional maritime expertise as well as competencies that students may not immediately associate with the maritime industry.

That was an important part of the company visits. ShippingLab introduced the students to the maritime sector and its importance in Denmark and globally, while the companies made the connection to the students’ own educational backgrounds tangible – often through employees who had followed similar educational paths themselves.

From a flowmeter to a ship simulator

For a group of ITU students visiting TORM, this meant meeting employees working with data, AI, performance and decarbonisation and seeing some of the digital platforms and programmes they use and develop. The students also got a rather more physical encounter with maritime technology when they were invited to take a closer look at – and try to lift – a flowmeter.

At Alfa Laval, students from AAU explored the company’s large test centre and met employees who could connect their own engineering backgrounds to their work in the maritime industry.

MARTEC students visiting Orskov Yard saw another side of the sector. They toured the yard and port, went down into a dry dock and heard about both the yard’s local importance in Frederikshavn and its role in the wider maritime industry.

At SH Group, SIMAC students met a relatively recent SIMAC graduate, who shared his own route into the company and talked about the transition from education to working with real engineering challenges.

SDU students visiting Inrotech saw how automation and remote-controlled technologies can be used to perform welding operations in demanding environments, before heading into the production facilities to see the technology for themselves.

At Monjasa, marine engineering students from Fredericia explored both the company’s global operations and the more technical side of the industry through its offshore company CBED, including the role of marine engineers on board its vessels.

At FORCE Technology, students with backgrounds ranging from Computer Science and Data Science to Ocean Engineering, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering explored ship models, simulation technology, drones and the towing tank. Some even had the opportunity to take control of a digital ship in the simulator.

And at Fueltech, marine engineering students from Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering moved from an introduction on screen to the production floor, where the equipment in front of them prompted questions about everything from functionality to why individual components had been designed the way they had.

Next stop: SMM

From 2-4 September, the initiative continues with a three-day study trip to SMM in Hamburg.

ShippingLab, Danish Maritime, Danish Shipping and Danish Export Association are joining forces to bring 200 students from ITU, DTU, AAU, SDU, SIMAC, MARTEC, FMS, Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering and Teknika to Hamburg. The trip will give the students an opportunity to experience the breadth of the maritime industry, meet companies and explore potential career paths.

The study trip is made possible with support from DS NORDEN/Orient’s Fond and is part of the organisations’ shared effort to bring students and the maritime industry closer together and make the many different career opportunities in the sector more visible.